Coleman raises sewer rates; water stable

By Patti Brandtfor the Daily News

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, November 2, 2009

Sewer customers in Coleman recently saw a 5 percent increase in their rates.

Residential customers will now pay a flat fee of $30.66 per quarter for sewer use if their household uses 10,000 gallons or less of water. Sewer usage cannot be directly measured and instead is based on water consumption.

Customers will pay $1.75 per 1,000 gallons for more than 10,000 gallons of water coming into a home. That’s an increase of $1.46 in the flat fee from last year and about 8 cents in the per 1,000-gallon rate.

Most households use less than 10,000 gallons per quarter, said Kathleen Lewis, Coleman city clerk and treasurer.

The measure, approved in December 2007, raised sewer rates 5 percent per year for three years, with the new rates becoming effective on July 1 in both 2008 and 2009. The last 5 percent increase will go into effect in July 2010.

Customers saw the increase on their October bills, Lewis said. Water and sewer services are billed quarterly.

The measure will bring in about $3,000 more revenue per year for Coleman, Lewis said.

Water rates, however, have not gone up in several years, Lewis said. Residential customers continue to pay a flat fee of $43.70 for up to 10,000 gallons of water, and $1.60 per 1,000 gallons for anything over 10,000 gallons.

Bill Cozat, Coleman public services director, said the sewer rate increases were put into place to make ends meet.

“Expenditures were short of revenues,” Cozat said. “We cut everything we could cut. At some point in time you have to adjust your rates.”

About 560 homes and businesses use Coleman’s lagoon system to treat their wastewater, Cozat said.

Lagoon systems include ponds designed to receive, hold, and treat wastewater for a specified period of time. The use of lagoons is considered an economical way for small municipalities to treat wastewater.

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Lewis said residents over 62 years of age qualify for a $5 per quarter discount. Residents should sign up by Dec. 31 of the year they turn 62.